Kay Koplovitz

Country: USA
ENTREPRENEUR | INVESTOR | AUTHOR

A visionary, Kay was the first woman to head a major television network, USA Networks, and launch the popular SyFy Channel. Today, she is the bestselling author of Bold Women, Big Ideas, Co-Founder of Boldcap Ventures and Chairman of Springboard Enterprises. Kay amplifies the portfolios of other women-led companies through investment, leadership and mentorship. An experienced public board member, Kay is currently the Chairman of the Board of Fifth & Pacific Companies (Formerly Liz Claiborne) and a board member of CA Technologies and ION media. She has served on the boards of Instinet, Oracle, Nabisco, and General Re.

Joy Buolamwini

Country: USA + Zambia
PROGRAMMER | HUMANITARIAN

Joy Buolamwini is the founder of Zamrize, an initiative that empowers youth to become creators of technology. As a 2013 Rhodes Scholar, Joy is currently pursuing a Masters in Education (Learning & Technology) and pole vaulting. She was recently appointed to the Georgia Tech OMS CS Board as Ambassador to Africa in order to help increase the number of computer science professionals worldwide. She is also a Co-Founder of Techturized, a hair care technology company and Flashpoint Accelerator launched business. A graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology, Joy is a Fulbright Fellow, Stamps’ President’s Scholar, Astronaut Scholar and Google Anita Borg Scholar. Her past research includes work on social robotics and autism as well as personal health informatics.

Dr. Mae Jemison

Country: USA
ASTRONAUT | ENTREPRENEUR

Dr. Mae Jemison is the first woman of color in the world to travel through space. A trailblazer, she is the founder of organizations including Jemison Group, BioSentient Corp., and the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence. The Foundation’s principal projects include: The Earth We Share, Celebrating Women of Color in Flight™ and her latest- the launch of 100 Year Starship (100YSS), which aspires to make Interstellar Space Travel reality by 2112. Dr. Jemison is the author of Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments from My Life. She continues to inspire others through her interests in technology and human behavior.

Stefania Druga

Country: Romania
LEARNING ARCHITECT | HACKER

Stefania is teaching children to solve local problems through coding, hacking and art. She is a former Googler, fellow at Singularity University and founder of HacKidemia- a project that creates hands-on workshops for children and uses technology, science and art to solve local problems. City by city, Hackidmeia is fueling curiosity in workshops, including Bucharest, Paris, Berlin, Sofia, Dallas, Brazil and Nigeria. Stefania believes Hackidemia is a powerful investment because children are the architects of a better society.

Ping Fu

Country: USA + China
3-D SOFTWARE DEVELOPER | AUTHOR

Honored in 2005 by Inc. Magazine as “The Entrepreneur of the Year,” Ping Fu is changing the face of technology around the globe. She is Co-Founder of Geomagic, a 3D imaging software company acquired by 3D Systems. Today, she is the Vice President and Chief Entrepreneur Officer at 3D Systems. Before co-founding Geomagic, Ping was involved in the NCSA Mosaic software that led to Netscape and Internet Explorer. Ping serves on the White House’s National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the board of directors at the Long Now Foundation. She is the author of Bend Not Break.

Hannah Chung

Country: USA + South Korea
ENGINEER | DESIGNER | TINKERER

Hannah is the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Sproutel, the company that created Jerry the Bear– an interactive teaching toy for children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Hannah has been named one of the Top 15 Women to Watch in Tech” by Inc. Magazine and her company, Sproutable, has been named one of the “Top 5 Startups that Use Tech To Do Good” by Mashable. As a freshman at Northwestern, Hannah also co-founded Design for America, an award-winning national initiative. She currently sits as a national advisor for the organization.

Keren Elazari

Country: Israel
CYBER SECURITY EXPERT | RESEARCHER

Karen Elizari has been employed with leading Israeli security firms, government organizations, Big 4 and Fortune 500 companies. She has organized, hosted and participated in security events around the globe and has been a speaker at international media events. In 2012, Keren was a Teaching Fellow with Singularity University in California and a research fellow with the Yuval Ne’eman Science, Technology & Security Workshop in Tel Aviv University. Her academic research focused on the effects of hacking and cyber warfare on global politics and national security issues.

Amy Purdy

Country: USA
FEMBOT | SNOWBOARDER | SPEAKER

A self-described “fembot,” Amy Purdy lost her legs at the age of 19 but refused to give up her courage and drive. After surviving this life-altering experience, she challenged herself to move forward and attain goals that even those who have both legs struggle to achieve. Today, she is one of the top ranked adaptive snowboarders in the world and was the 2014 Paralympic bronze medalist. Amy is also Co-Founder of Adaptive Action Sports- a non-profit for individuals with physical disabilities who want to get involved in action sports, art and music. Adaptive Action Sports was partially responsible for getting snowboarding into the ESPN X Games and the 2014 Paralympics. In the spring of 2014, Amy inspired millions of fans ABC’s Dancing With The Stars, eventually becoming the show’s runner-up. She is the author of On My Own Two Feet, due out in December 2014. Amy’s latest adventure is sharing her remarkable story alongside Oprah Winfrey, as part of Oprah’s The Life You Want Tour.

E. Farah Samli

Country: USA + Ireland + Pakistan

SCIENTIST | ARTIST | “THIRD-CULTURE KID”

Farah combines art and science to disrupt the way vaccines are delivered. An infectious diseases Ph.D. student at The University of Georgia (UGA), she and her doctoral advisor, Prof. Donald Harn, are developing a cutting-edge vaccine delivery system. The effectiveness of this new method is currently being validated in a mouse-adapted, influenza A (H1N1) vaccine model system and a water buffalo schistosomiasis vaccine trial in China and the Philippines. Farah grew up in Pakistan and her childhood was influenced by the plight of Afghan refugees fleeing their homeland. A dedicated and driven scientist, she is focused on positively contributing to the lives of others around the world.

Cynthia Kenyon

Country: USA
SCIENTIST | RESEARCHER

As Vice President of Aging Research at Calico, Cynthia Kenyon is a proponent of living a long, healthy life. Her research on C. elegans roundworms has made her one of the world’s cutting-edge authorities on the molecular biology and genetics of aging and life extension. In 1993, she sparked an intense interest in the molecular biology of aging when she discovered she could double the lifespan of the worm by partially disabling a single gene in it. Kenyon’s findings have led to the realization that a universal hormone-signaling pathway influences aging in many species, including humans. She has identified many longevity genes and pathways, and her lab was the first to discover that neurons, and also the germ cells, can control the lifespan of the whole animal.

In 1986, she joined the faculty of the University of California, San Francisco, where she became the Herb Boyer Distinguished Professor and an American Cancer Society Professor, before joining Calico in 2014. Kenyon is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and she is a former president of the Genetics Society of America.

Pilar Manchon

Country: Spain + USA
DEVELOPER | COMPUTER LINGUIST

Pilar is a Spanish entrepreneur and researcher who co-founded Indisys (Intelligent Dialogue Systems) in 2005. After raising $5 million in Series A funding from Intel Capital and Inveready Group to expand internationally, Indisys has become an industry leader in Human-Computer Interaction technology and has won the largest Virtual Assistant RFPs in Spain. Today, Pilar is R&D Manager at Intel, the giant that acquired Indisys for $26 million. A native of Seville, this gen-X female pioneer is changing the face and landscape of natural language processing, Artificial Intelligence and multilingual virtual assistants.

Alejandra Mustakis

Country: Chile
ENTREPRENEUR | INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER

Alejandra, is a catalyst who launched Chile’s first “MakerSpace” - an open and collaborative zone filled with 3D printers, robots, welding machines; as well as Latin America’s first “Maker Faire” with 5,000 people attending it’s inaugural event. Focused and passionate, this innovative Merlin spins at her own frequency. She is an industrial designer, angel investor, Co-Founder of Innovo, Kauel, Medular and Greencity. Alejandra is recognized as one of Chile’s Top 100 Leaders and was recently appointed as Director of ASECH.

Caroline Goulard

Country: France
DATA STORYTELLER | VISUAL TRANSFORMER

Since the completion of her studies at Sciences Po Rennes and HEC Paris, Caroline has been nurturing a passion for how information can be expressed, shared and understood. Acting on her strong belief that the rich data era will transform the way we work, learn and communicate, in 2010 she co-founded Dataveyes. Dataveyes is a startup company designing interactive data visualization. Within Dataveyes, Caroline translates data into interactive experiences to uncover insightful stories and understand our environment that is increasingly shaped by data and algorithms.

Thanh Nghiem

Country: France
SUPER CONNECTOR | KNOWLEDGE ACCELERATOR

Thanh’s transforming the world through her vast experience leading incubators in the field of Internet and sustainable development. McKinsey’s first female partner in France, Thanh led the establishment of its ASEAN and China offices and its Internet incubators in Europe. In partnership with the World Bank, she developed an incubator that provided water & sanitation solutions for poor communities. In 2002,Thanh founded Angenius Institute, a non-profit institution that promotes projects in sustainable developments and knowledge sharing. Today, she is Head of CRI Open Innovation Lab at JVN.